Five reasons why you should read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Dear reader,

If you don’t know, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell is one of my favourite books in the whole wide world. I have been re-reading it over and over again and apparently I still can’t get enough of it. There’s something about this book that makes me feel better – I even keep it on my desk to make sure that I see it every day and so it will work its magic on me.

The thing is that this book is a win or loose deal: You either adore it or hate it. Indeed, Fangirl is a characters driven novel and there’s no real story within it. That’s why today I wanted to present you five reasons why you should read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

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❥ It talks about being a potterhead and growing up online

The main character of Fangirl, Cath, is obsessed with a book series called Simon Snow which, obviously, is a metaphor for the Harry Potter series. She is the writer of one of the most successful fanfiction about it and is part of its online community – which is where the novel got its title. Needless to say that if you are a potterhead or grew up online like I did, you will definitely end up seeing yourself in Cath.

I believe that Rainbow Rowell portrayed what makes us fans right. Everything isn’t in it – for instance it doesn’t deal with Twitter, Tumblr or anything. Still, it got the feeling right. The feeling you get when you talk about what you love and get to share it with other fans, the feeling you get when you finally do not feel alone in this world because others love the same thing as you do, the feeling you get when you love something more than words themselves. Fangirl is like a beautiful love letter to fans from all around the world, and I believe that it’s a good enough reason to finally pick it up.

❥ It has a real and imperfect love interest

This has to be one of the most important reasons to read Fangirl: for Levi, the love interest. Levi is a very tall farm boy who works at Starbucks during his free time. He is kind, thoughtful, fun but mostly real. What I mean by that is that you can definitely meet a Levi tomorrow in your own university, and I still hope that someday it will happen to me.

Levi isn’t perfect and makes mistakes. He is insecure and honest, and that’s what makes him so great. For once you don’t read about the perfect guy who is also irrealistic and makes you think that you’ll never meet someone that great. Levi is great, but is also rough and imperfect – which is what makes him so amazing. I highly recommend picking up Fangirl if you are over the cliché of the way-too-perfect love interest you know doesn’t exist and if you want to read something more real.

❥ It deals with what family really means

When our story stars, Cath feels very insecure about her family and what it means. Her twin sister wants to be more independant and doesn’t hang out with her anymore, her father is facing some important issues related to his mental health and her mother, who abandonned them years ago, suddenly wants to come back into their life. Cath feels lost, and that’s something that I felt too at a point of my life.

Thankfully Fangirl shows us what the word “family” truly means and why it matters. Family isn’t only about blood: People you are related to can disappoint you and people who don’t share the same blood as you can count as well. You have to stay open to every possibility, to include friends in your inner circle, to know that “family” means not having to fight to be loved and you’ll always be able to rely on what you call your family.

❥ It makes you realise that you can do anything

It has been said again and again that Cath suffers from social anxiety, or at least anxiety, and like many people I do too. Although things are hard on her, Cath gets better, takes risks and grows up. Reading it truly empowered me and I believe that it can help many others as well. As you follow Cath’s journey on her first year at university you soon realise that her life isn’t easy: Being in a new school is hard, she doesn’t know anyone, her father isn’t well and is far away from her, her writing class isn’t as easy as she thoughts it would be and more.

I had to face many of the problems she had. For example, she never found the cafeteria because she didn’t have the time to do it when she first got there and as time passed it became awkward and she have never been able to finally face it. That’s something that happens to me all the time: I’m scared to do something, I don’t do it, times pass and then it’s too late and I’m stuck. Thankfully Cath is surrounded by her friends who happen to know when to push her. This book is like a big reminder that despite your anxiety, or anything, you can do this. You are capable of more than you know.

❥ It’s like a nerdy paradise for anyone who loves autumn and university

Finally, anyone who loves this very peculiar and unique university feeling must read Fangirl. It’s like being stuck in autumn forever and ever, surrounded by Harry Potter references, nice and ancient buildings and pumpkin spice lattes. I already talked about it all in my blog post about my favourite books set at university, but this one really is special and will make you feel good if you happen to love this kind of novels.

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And here we are! I hope that those five reasons will make you want to pick up Fangirl. If not, well you do you!

Have you read Fangirl? Did you happen to love it or hate it?

Love always,

Clara